At CU, guns okay but pot not permitted

Things are seriously out of whack at the University of Colorado these days. Guns are okay, but pot is not.

For some unknown reason, and despite the mass theater shooting just down the road in July, the university not only embraced the idea of allowing guns on campus, it established a “gun dorm” so gun-toting students could enjoy the camaraderie and excitement of living together. To the everlasting credit of students, not one applied for residence there.

Perhaps the “adults” in charge at CU thought there would be less risk to everyone else if all the guns were in one dorm? Or maybe they thought they’d just let the gun owners bear the risk of living with guns rather than mixing them with other students — as though the guns would never be taken from the dorm.

Honestly, I’ve no idea what the rationale was. But the same mental giants who came up with that idea are now saying no way, no how, are they going to allow marijuana on campus. Pesky federal laws not withstanding, both guns and pot are now legal in Colorado. But while guns are welcome on campus, pot is strictly forbidden. What a peculiar, backward stance, considering their relative lethality.

To be fair, there is both federal law and financial incentive at work here. The university apparently stands to lose millions in federal funds if it allows on campus a substance that the U.S. government says is illegal. That’s the sort of conundrum you face when you pass a state law that contravenes a federal law.

Yes, there are assorted conflicting laws and rules in play here but still, as it stands now at one of the country’s most notorious “party schools,” you can party with a gun, but not a joint. Go figure.

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5 replies

The lengths people will go to for the sake of political correctness never ceases to amaze me. Considering how unlikely it is that they’ll ever actually eliminate pot from campus, I wonder if all those students thought they’d be safer in dorms where smoking and drinking go on all the time without the addition of guns to the mix?

Lots of different reasons, I imagine. Personally I think any guns on any campus is crazy. With all the drinking and partying and poor judgment among college-age kids, why on earth would anyone think it a good idea to add guns? Guns good; pot bad. Bizarre.